CM220: Unit 1 Seminar

“You must be the change you wish to see

in the world.”~ Mohandas Gandhi

Agenda

• Contact Information• Course Overview• Virtual Tour• Expectations• Big Ideas• Writing

Contact Information

• Email: jst.john@kaplan.edu– Subject: CM220-07: Concern– Example: CM220-07: Unit 3 Project Question

• Office hours: By appointment (on AIM)– AIM name: Jstjku

• Note: Some of you may be students of Professor Hannigan, Merrils or Von Streuben

What we’ll cover this term

CM220 is designed to develop the writer’s skills in:• Research• Analysis of research • Application of critical thinking skills • Development of effective arguments • Supporting arguments with credible sources• APA citation• Collaboration• Prewriting, editing, and revision process

Your Toolbox

Use• MS Word• Dictionary• Thesaurus• Bartleby.com • Kaplan library• Kaplan Writing Center (live

chats, Q & A, paper review, library)

• Google Scholar• Google Books• Free academic databases and

electronic journals available on-line

Be careful

• Returns from internet searches

• Blogs

• Wikipedia

Tips for Success

• Review the “course home” materials about the library, plagiarism, and navigating the E-college platform.

• Review the documents posted in Doc Sharing.• Check e-mail and announcements frequently.• Communicate with me and ask questions!• Participate actively in the weekly discussions

and seminars.• Read grading rubrics and assignment

guidelines carefully.

Virtual Tour

Flex Seminars

• Please note that you are in a course that is using flexible seminars. Your flex seminar cohort includes 3 instructors, each offering a seminar that you may attend in any unit. There will be 3 seminars offered weekly, and you can choose to attend the seminar that best fits your schedule.

• The flex seminars for CM220-20 are scheduled for:1. Monday, 10:00 AM ET (J. St. John)2. Monday, 5:00 PM ET (G. Smith) 3. Thursday, 9:00 PM ET (S. Honea)

Seminar Tips

• Avoid side conversations, stay on topic• Review unit material before class• Ask questions, respond to peers, respond to

instructor questions• Logging in and “paying attention” is not

enough to earn credit• Option 2 for missed seminars

Invention Lab

• A.K.A. Discussion• Refer to course reading for support• Stay on topic• Demonstrate knowledge (existing, learned)– 200 –250 words for main post100 responses to

peers

• Appropriate content (not blog writing)• Grammatically correct

Project Guidelines

• Projects due Tuesdays by 11:59 p.m est.• Use the correct unit’s dropbox to post

assignments• Write documents in MS Word with “doc” or

“docx” extension• Read grading rubric and project guidelines

carefully!• Be sure to review Kaplan’s plagiarism policy

(see the syllabus and the Writing Center for details)

Projects & Major Assignments

• Unit 2 project: 60 points (“pitch” your idea)• Unit 4 project: 100 points (primary and secondary

research project)• Unit 5 discussion: Letter to the editor• Unit 6 project: 150 points (draft of persuasive essay)• Unit 7 discussion: presentation of big idea• Unit 9 project: 240 points – 5-7 page revision of blueprint for progress (unit 6)– letter to the editor (unit 5), – presentation of Big idea (unit 7), – Reflection on the student’s development of the Big Idea

Final Project

Is a portfolio consisting of :• Revisions of the blueprint for progress that you will

submit in unit 6• The letter to the editor that you will write for the unit

5 discussion• The presentation that you will create for the unit 7

discussion.

• The presentation can be a blog, podcast, brochure, slide show, or one of the other multi-media forms covered in the tech labs (units 2-7) or approved by your instructor.

Final Project

You will also write a reflection piece that answers the following questions in paragraph form:

• What did you learn about yourself as a writer? As a thinker?

• What did you learn about the process of writing?• What skills did you develop that might help you in the

future?• What did you take from the larger conversation with

others? • How did your feedback from peers and your instructor

affect the revision of your blueprint, letter to the editor, and presentation?

Final Project: Big Idea

• Invention & exploration of an idea that impacts the world/community– Persuasive framework– An appeal for change– Use research for support

What are your Big Ideas?

• Local, national, global problems• New product, software• Improving existing product, concept• Starting a movement, business• Challenging topics

• Where do you go to find ideas to write about?

Writing

• This class focuses on formal writing in a persuasive context.

• What does this mean to you?• What is the difference between formal and

informal writing?• What are differences between informative and

persuasive writing?• What kinds of persuasion do we see and use in

our daily lives? • How might you use persuasive writing in your

professional life?

Unit 1 Assignments

• Introduce yourself to the class• Reading: Unit 1 overview; The Kaplan Guide to

Successful Writing, chapters 1, 2, 3, 8, 15• Invention Lab: Identify a “big idea” to explore or

review an existing idea from the Innovation Gallery• Seminar: Introduction to course, methods of

discovery, and field trip to register with the New York Times or Washington Post

Questions?

• Remember – if you have any questions or concerns – ASK!

• jst.john@kaplan.edu

Have a great week!!!